I passed a Herculean task: Mugweni
OUT of Mashonaland Central’s 18 constituencies, no other constituency attracted more political and media attention than Mazowe North, where Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Advocate Martin Dinha fought a protracted battle to retain the parliamentary seat before eventually losing to the province’s youngest legislator, Cde Campion Mugweni.
Having filled the shoes of his predecessors and men of calibre in the personalities of Cdes Chris Kuruneri, Cairo Mhandu, Edgar Chidavaenzi and recently Adv Dinha, Zanu-PF’s winning Member of National Assembly, Cde Mugweni (34) finds himself making history.
“My path to victory was not easy, right from the primary elections when I had to fight a war for my CVs to be accepted,” said Cde Mugweni in a recent interview.
“I can safely say the primary elections were designed for the incumbents, hence most of the aspiring youths could not make it beyond the primaries, especially given the short period that we were allocated to campaign. For me, it was a Herculean task as I was going up against a seasoned politician.
“However, I am a beneficiary of the intra-party democracy that was ushered in by President Mnangagwa in which the voice of the people of Mazowe North eventually became the voice of God and more so as Zanu-PF we got 100 percent support from the party during our campaigns, which led to my garnering of 17 277 votes during the harmonised elections. This is the highest result ever in the history of the constituency.”
Cde Mugweni said he was committed to ensuring that the province regained its agricultural prowess.
“Mazowe North is one of the few constituencies in Zimbabwe with more dams for irrigation, the climate in the area makes it the hub of agriculture in the province,” he said. “Hence, I feel very obliged to contribute more to restore its breadbasket status.
“This can be achieved by investing more in agrarian activities. Besides tobacco and maize, we have to urge farmers to embark on beekeeping, horticulture and fish farming. This is very possible considering that my constituency is endowed with good soils and vast arable lands, therefore we are going to invest more in agro-business.”
Cde Mugweni said he was concerned by the gender disparities in the country, which had seen few women managing to secure seats in the National Assembly.
“The gender issue is still a worrying factor in our country and this can be clearly indicated by the few numbers of women participating in politics,” he said. “In Mash Central, all the parliamentary seats were scooped by male politicians.
“There is need to assist women in rising up the political ladder. Yes, we have the women’s quota, but I feel it is not enough. Considering the state of women and the girl child in Mash Central, I feel that women issues are critical.